Reminiscent
by Pensola
Summary: Engine Sentai Go-Onger, post ep. 11. After being lured back into the racetracks temporarily, Sosuke returns to the circuit to think and remember. Or trying to, at least.


Inside the magical camper, loud snores were heard everywhere. Tonight was one of the nights Sosuke was supposed to be sleeping in the control room, so that if the banki alarm, AKA BOMBER, went off, there would be someone to quickly wake up, listen, find the location and scout ahead while the others woke up. But he laid on the bed for a while, moving around to find a better position to fall asleep in. In the end, he looked up at the clock. 02:00, it said. He wanted to groan, but the engines were sleeping (or "dormant", "charging" or whatever BOMBER would call it) and he did not want to wake them up. So instead he just kept lying on the bed, his arms behind his head as he looked at the plain roof. The young man thought back to the events that had happened that day. In the morning, the core three had woken up earlier than usual and decided to not wake up Hant and Gunpei just yet. So instead they surfed through the channels to see if there were anything interesting there. When they reached the news channels, they were about to change again when they heard a familiar name.

"Japan's top racer, Esumi Sosuke, has been chosen to race in the World Grand Prix in Monaco in a month's time," the news anchor had said with his usual polite tone. "We congratulate our local miracle racer and hope that he will spend all his time and passion in practicing for this big competition with no distractions. We are trying to get a press conference with the Speed King as soon as possible."

And hilariously enough, that was exactly what he had done. Ignoring the other news that was presented afterward (Saki gaining fame as an idol and Renn being drafted to be in some quiz), Sosuke had risen from his chair and found his old racer uniform. If he was to compete internationally, he definitely had to train, he had declared. The young man had expected his engine partner to protest, but Speedor had instead happily agreed and requested to join him in practice. So of course he had complied.

Thinking back to it now, Sosuke wrinkled his nose at how easily he had fallen for the television illusion. He had not even argued, just accepted it. He felt so weak about it now. Why exactly had it been so easy to trick him, to the point that he ignored the pleas of a fellow Go-Onger? He, who had fought powerless against otherworldly monsters with a swift key without a second thought, who would run into battle with a cold? How could he so easily ignore his duties as a member of the Engine Squadron?

"The banki showed your dreams come true to distract you," Gunpei had explained when they walked back to the trailer after a battle won. "I have no idea how they knew about your secret desires, though, so we have to be on our guard from here on out."

Thinking back to it, he quietly rose from his bed and sneaked out of the trailer. He would get yelled at in the morning for leaving his "post", but after half a year on duty, they knew that the chance for a night raid by the pollution ministers was close to zero.

Within an hour of walking, he found himself inside the racing circuit. It was closed, but Sosuke had been sneaking into the area so many times that a few locked doors would not stop him. If the sleeping guard somehow woke up and caught him, he would just say that he was Go-On Red scouting for possible banki. He had his transformation devices with him just in case, anyway. A thing being Go-Onger for so long had taught him; always be prepared for a battle no matter the circumstances.

He stopped in the middle of the raod and looked around at the empty audience seats before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The smell of gasoline and burned wheels still lingered somewhat, he could sense, or maybe it was just his brain imagining it. Memories from earlier, when he had been in his good old racecar, came flooding back to him. The feeling of sitting in the seat, only looking at the road before him and guiding the car, like nothing else existed. Only him and his car. No pollution ministers, no bizarre monsters, no battle to the death, no knowledge of braneworls and no giant talking en-

"Partner, what are you doing here?"

He let out a loud yelp when a voice interrupted his imagination and jumped around, almost prepared to find his equipment to fight. But when he saw nobody, he looked down at the ground and saw a tiny little red car a meter away from him.

"Speedor?" he said, a little too high-pitched from the scare, perhaps. "What're you doing here?"

"I asked you." The little car drove a little forward, then back, as if to express an emotion he otherwise could not do in the cast. "I saw you leave the camp and was worried. You didn't tell anyone you left. Ah, that was very irresponsible, by the way! What if Gaiark decided to have a night raid?"

"I get it, I get it." Sosuke rolled his eyes, pouting. He was not in the mood of arguing. Instead he sat down cross-legged so that they could easier speak to each other.

"Are you all right, Sosuke?" The car's voice was low, worried. The human was not in the mood of worrying people, either, so he forced his best grin and moved his hand to do a factory sign.

"Of course I am!" he said, "I'm at full health!"

"You're not all right," Speedor said immediately.

"What do YOU know?"

"If you were all right, you'd have said "Mach health". Which wouldn't make sense, by the way, according to human science."

Sosuke groaned and made a grimace. "For a car, you're quite perceptive, you know."

"No, not really," he said, but Sosuke could see that he was flattered by the half-compliment.

"I'm just thinking about racing, is all." The engine grew silent for a while, and the young man took the opportunity to elaborate. "I mean, I know that the television was lying and that it was all part of the banki's plan, but I was actually here in the racetracks and for a whole day, I was back in the racing car like I used to." He sighed. "Also made me realize that it has been almost half a year since this whole Gaiark invasion happened. It's so crazy to think about. One day I'm driving to prepare for a race, the next I'm presumed dead while I run around saving the city!" He never did understand how his old mentor had thought he died. He never exactly hid his face around the public. Might be because he never made an effort to contact anyone in his former social circle after he received his powers, which he admittedly felt guilty for.

"Sosuke…" The two of them stayed silent after that. Sosuke just sighed loudly and exasperatedly let his back fall down to the ground, so he could get a better view of the stars. "…Do you miss being a racer?"

This was one of the rare times Sosuke thought thoroughly about what he should say. He did not want to hurt his partner, but neither did he want to lie, either. He was not exactly the best liar, anyway.

"Dude, I'm a superhero who gets to live jobfree in a magical camping truck with some awesome colleagues and save the world from pollution while ironically driving a giant-ass car robot!" He rose up in a sitting position again, straightening his arms upward in a show of cheerfulness. "This is practically a dream!"

"But it's not YOUR dream."

"Huh?" A little shocked by the tone the engine was using, he let his arms fall and looked down.

"Your dream is to race and it has always been to race, yet you gave it all up for us when we came to you that time. You barely hesitated when I asked you to become my partner while in the Human World. I mean, I don't know what we expected of you after the initial first battle, to continue your lives while also carrying your new Go-Onger duties or to give up completely. But for you to freely leave your racing dream to work with us full-time, yet say that you are living the dream… I don't get it."

Sousuke looked up at the audience seats, thinking about a way to explain what was confusing his partner. "'Cause you're thinking about it too simply, Speedor."

"I do NOT want to hear you say that, ever."

The ex-racer chuckled mockingly before he continued. "I don't just have ONE dream. I dream about what kinda person I wanna BE, and what I wanna DO. Desire and goal, as Renn or Hiroto would say. I wanna help people and be an inspiration to kids. That's what I dream to be like, which is why I LOVE being a Go-Onger 'cause I can be that with added world-saving and all that. But my goal in life, one that I am gonna achieve sometime in the future no matter what, is to be a world-class racer. That is something I have dreamed to be since I was a lil' Sosuke. Just because I can't work on achieving my life goal for the moment doesn't mean I'm letting go of it while I am what I wanna be like. Like I told Saki, I'll reach it on my own when time comes."

"That's… very mature of you, Sosuke."

"You think so?" It made him happy to hear it, maybe because such compliments were not exactly common for the young racer. "So, yanno, I don't regret becoming a Go-Onger, so don't worry about it if you did." He rose up again, stretching his back. "Maaaan, I think I heard a crack! I must be getting old!" Sosuke then kneeled down to take a hold of Speedor's cast. "Hey, you need to rest, wanna go into the Go-Phone?"

Speedor, however, ignored his partner. "But do you miss racing?" he asked again, more persistent. "You're always happy and engaged in battle, but on the racetrack today, you seemed like a completely different person. Your entire mind was on the road, and all your movements were swift and precise. The rest of the world did not exist outside of the road track, and you carried an unbeatable aura. I've never seen you like that before, so… I mean, I understand that racing and battling Gaiark are different, but… um…"

"Of course I'd miss it."

"Oh."

"I mean, I had kinda forgotten about it, since I haven't been back here for months and saving the world from supernatural pollution sorta fills your mind, but today definitely reminded me of it, and it's strange. And now that I remember, I kinda really miss it." Then he grinned as a realization hit him. "So that means I have to work extra hard to defeat Gaiark so that I can quickly get back to becoming a top racer! Full speed ahead and all!" Damn, he forgot to use Mach again. He really WAS kind of a bad liar.

Speedor was silent. It was kind of weird to not hear any reply, so Sosuke kept talking. "Anyway, it's late, I don't wanna listen to BOMBER or Gunpei yell at me tomorrow for skipping night duty, so let's go back."

"Sosuke, put me down."

"What?"

"Just put me down, would you?"

With a pouting face – for he had expected a little more empathic reaction upon him spilling his feelings out – he put the little car down. "So, what is this all about?" He was about to come with a joke suggestion, but before he could, the little toy car let out a strong, blinding light, forcing him to turn and cover his eyes. "Speedor! What're you doing?" Engines could not stay in their original, giant-sized form for long in the Human World; that was why their souls were separated from their casts, and preferably only used them when they were to do their engine unions. Granted, it was safe enough to be in the casts as long as they kept themselves in minimized forms, but what was Speedor thinking, transforming here?

When he felt the light disappearing, he dared to open his eyes, and before him was his engine partner, but neither in his toy-car form nor his original gian form. It was something in between, looking the same size as an actual, normal car.

"Speedor," he repeated, his tone making him feel like motherly Renn trying to make sense of his children's antics. "What are you doing? You know you can't stay not-mini-Speedor-"

"-For longer than ten minutes," the red engine ended for him. "It's okay, I will recharge overtime when we get home." With that, the door to the place where the drivers seat would usually be opened. "Hop in."

"What?" Sosuke was sure his face was hilarious, like it apparently always was when he was confused.

"You always talk about how my cast is just like a race car, but we have never actually tested it out on an actual race track without monsters to go to. Hop in."

"I still don't get it, Speedor-"

"I want you to experience it again," the car cut in. "Even if it's just for a few minutes, I want you to experience those feelings you get when you race. And I want to experience it with you as your partner. Um, I mean, it's the least I can do for all the sacrifices you guys have done for us."

"But is it safe? You guys keep telling us that we need to be in suit when we enter you."

"Yeah, but that is in battle where you will be hurt from attacks along with us. As long as we don't crash and you get out when the time limit hits, we should be fine. And I trust you to never let that happen to us!" The voice was so trusting, like it always was when they talked about their partnership. "Anyway, hop in, we've already wasted a whole minute!"

"Speedor…" Had Sosuke been any other man, he might have sped a tear at his partner's feelings. But he knew it would only make him uncomfortable, so he quickly dried them away with his arm and grinned. "Well, if that is what you want to, then I guess I can't refuse!" He jogged over to the open door and took a seat. "Though I warn you, I won't exactly be preachy when I'm racing; you'll get bored before you know it."

"Bored, with you?" Speedor let out a mocking laughter. "I doubt it."

And as they usually did, Speedor let Sosuke take control, using the brakes and gas pedal to start the engine. "All right!" Sosuke said, a new energy filling him. "Let us do this at Mach speed!"


End file.
